Tony Boucher was the editor of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction before he died of cancer in 1968. Dick wonders what kind of a world would let a man like Tony die of cancer. Dick paints a picture of Tony as a generous man ultimately scared of the universe. Dick’s first sale (his story “Roog”) was to Tony. No one understood that story at the time, but it went on to be taught in a college-level science fiction course. 

In a digression Dick goes on to say that his cat Pinky, who also died of cancer, and Tony were one and the same.

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